It was the epoch of astonishing grandeur!
The Victorians combined features from a multitude of eras. To my surprise I found out that there wasn't just one particular Victorian Style, but a variety, each proving to be unique and contain various features. Here are some of the styles that The Victorians found inspirational:
Victorian Classicism
Gothic Revival
Italianate Romanesque
High Victorian
Queen Anne Style
Arts and Crafts
Rococo
The Victorian's innovation was driven by new technology, but they still plundered past Era's for inspiration. They were a nostalgic group of designers, this can be seen throughout their designs.
In my opinion, I think that what made their designs so different from the previous periods is the fact that they had new technologies, they would combine their inspiration with their "modern" day technology thus changing the style to "CREATE SOMETHING NEW".
It was total and complete brilliant chaos! A beautiful mess, as my tutor put it!
What is so fascinating about this Era to me is how they used all the styles mentioned above and they seemed to work in perfect harmony for them. They paid attention to every corner of their homes, right down to the very details and the result was astonishing. Their main concern was not in how the Interior or Building looked, but how they could incorporate a meaning behind it, a meaning that would reveal the "history" of the Victorians for years to come.
The Victorians combined features from a multitude of eras. To my surprise I found out that there wasn't just one particular Victorian Style, but a variety, each proving to be unique and contain various features. Here are some of the styles that The Victorians found inspirational:
Victorian Classicism
Gothic Revival
Italianate Romanesque
High Victorian
Queen Anne Style
Arts and Crafts
Rococo
The Victorian's innovation was driven by new technology, but they still plundered past Era's for inspiration. They were a nostalgic group of designers, this can be seen throughout their designs.
In my opinion, I think that what made their designs so different from the previous periods is the fact that they had new technologies, they would combine their inspiration with their "modern" day technology thus changing the style to "CREATE SOMETHING NEW".
It was total and complete brilliant chaos! A beautiful mess, as my tutor put it!
What is so fascinating about this Era to me is how they used all the styles mentioned above and they seemed to work in perfect harmony for them. They paid attention to every corner of their homes, right down to the very details and the result was astonishing. Their main concern was not in how the Interior or Building looked, but how they could incorporate a meaning behind it, a meaning that would reveal the "history" of the Victorians for years to come.
V&A home page - Victoria and Albert Museum (no date) Available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk (Accessed: 11 October 2015)
Dixon, R. and Muthesius, S. (1978) Victorian Architecture; With a short dictionary of architects and 250 illustrations. 2nd edn.
London; Thames and Hudson
Dixon, R. and Muthesius, S. (1978) Victorian Architecture; With a short dictionary of architects and 250 illustrations. 2nd edn.
London; Thames and Hudson